After Ge Jingyang's death, the Palace Front Division has been leaderless for some time.
It was impossible for the emperor to let his close guards return to the Ge family, and many ministers in the court had taken sides.
At this time, the Jiangzhou incident happened, and the emperor remembered that there was a military family named Shen in Jiangzhou, and in order to control the Shen family, he had to go to great lengths to set up a trap.
It seems that the Shen family is really not involved in party disputes, so it is safe to use them.
Jiangzhou had to have someone there, so Shen Chiyan's son Shen Qingwei was summoned to Huajing and given the important task of leading the Palace Front Division.
After receiving the imperial edict, Shen Qingwei ran home excitedly and hurriedly reported to his ancestors that he, Shen Qingwei, had brought honor to his family!
However, before he reached home, he was stopped by someone. The person claimed to be from Prince Gong's Mansion and invited him to have tea.
At Prince Gong's Mansion, the servants' warm hospitality made Shen Qingwei feel a little uneasy.
"Your Highness, why did you invite me here?"
But Gu Shichong smiled kindly, and with a raise of his hand, the servants who were serving him retreated one after another.
"General Shen is young, but he has been entrusted with such an important task. I don't know if he is used to it. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me."
Just one sentence scared Shen Qingwei into a cold sweat. How could he not know the implication of Gu Shichong's words to win him over? But before coming to Huajing, his father repeatedly warned him to stay away from party disputes and be cautious.
He just pretended to be calm and said, "Your Highness, I appreciate your kindness, but I dare not bother you."
Gu Shichong, however, acted as if he was discussing something quite ordinary. He smiled and said, "There aren't many princes around our father who we can rely on these days. My second brother is of foreign descent. My fourth brother made a mistake in his early years and was exiled. My sixth brother also angered our father a while ago. As for my fifth brother..."
He looked helpless: "The remaining younger brothers are all better at studying than my fifth brother."
Gu Shichong sighed deeply, "I am the only son left by my father's side, and you are the one who protects him closely. How can I not take good care of you?"
Shen Qingwei understood that Gu Shichong was analyzing the situation with him, making him understand that Prince Gong was the emperor's only successor, and asked him to attach himself to this future monarch as soon as possible.
Seeing Shen Qingwei's embarrassment, Gu Shichong patted him on the shoulder: "This prince and the emperor are of one mind. Sometimes, being loyal to this prince is being loyal to the emperor, don't you think?"
Scratching his head, Shen Qingwei didn't know how to respond, so he said awkwardly, "Your Highness... I'll go back and think carefully about what I don't understand. Once I've figured it out, I'll come back and ask Your Highness for advice."
After seeing Shen Qingwei off, the smile on Gu Shichong's face suddenly disappeared, and he rubbed his forehead in annoyance.
Although he has defeated Gu Shimin, he now needs to continue to build up his own power outside the Ge family.
The emperor is angry now, and the Palace Front Office refuses to let him interfere, so he will find a way to make the people in the Palace Front Office his own people.
Thinking of this, he opened the unfinished memorial in front of him.
When his father was in a better mood, he would submit this memorial to finalize Xue Zhiyi's marriage first, so as to settle the heart of this little bitch and prevent her from being so reckless as to cheat on him.
At this moment, someone came to report: "Your Highness, Miss Ge is here and wants to see you."
"Yuan Hui?" Gu Shichong frowned. "Isn't she imprisoned by my aunt? Are you willing to let her out?"
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let her in."
What he didn't expect was that Ge Yuanhui came with her face covered. When she entered the room, she staggered and looked around, as if she was afraid that something would follow her.
As soon as she saw Gu Shichong, tears welled up in her bright and charming eyes: "Cousin, Your Highness!"
If Gu Shichong had not been quick enough to grab a handful of it, Ge Yuanhui would have almost fallen to the ground in a miserable state.
He raised his hand and signaled his servants to leave first.
"How did you get yourself into this state?"
Gu Shichong supported her, and the two of them sat down slowly. Looking at her, Gu Shichong's brows deepened: "Where is the person who serves you?"
However, Ge Yuanhui just put on his clothes hastily and went out without dressing up carefully, which was rare. However, he still did not forget to comb his hair into a bun to cover the scar on his forehead.
She burst into tears: "I ran away on my own, how could I have the heart to bring anyone with me?"
After all, Ge Yuanhui had wanted to marry him since she was a child. Seeing her like this, Gu Shichong still felt a little reluctant. He poured her a cup of hot tea and said, "Tell me slowly."
"My dear cousin, my father wants to kill you!"
Gu Shichong's hand holding the teacup trembled: "What did you say?"
"It's true!" Ge Yuanhui said excitedly, "My father is already on his way back to Beijing. I overheard a conversation between my mother and her confidant and learned that they had this intention, so I hurried to tell you!"
The tenderness in Gu Shichong's eyes had vanished, replaced by vigilance and suspicion: "Why are you telling me?"
"Because I want to be queen."
Ge Yuanhui's expression and tone were so firm that Gu Shichong was inexplicably respectful. "What did you say?"
Ge Yuanhui simply sneered, "From childhood, I have diligently practiced the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and have never made a mistake in anything I say or do. But if I slack off, my mother will warn me that I must become queen or die. But now... I'm not what they want, and they want to abandon me. What then means by all the things I've done all these years?! I won't accept this!"
As she spoke, tears slowly fell. "I finally understand. They want to be the real ruler of Dayong, to be the in-law who monopolizes power. I'm just their pawn. My aunt couldn't become the queen, so they wanted me to be the queen. Now that I'm in the way, they want to kick me out. Why?"
Although Gu Shichong didn't know what Ge Yuanhui was feeling wronged about after doing so many bad things, he still listened to her.
She raised her hand, swept the teacup off the table, and smashed it to pieces: "My fate is determined by me alone!"
She cried, her eyes excited and pleading: "My dear cousin! I will help you! Can you help me too?"
Gu Shichong didn't want to pay any attention to her crazy behavior. He turned away and said with a smile: "How can you help me?"
Ge Yuanhui suddenly smiled, and her bright face took on a twisted allure. "I have my aunt's secret in my hand... a secret only I know. Doesn't your Highness want to know?"
Gu Shichong then became interested: "Oh?"
Ge Yuanhui smiled. She stepped forward and took Gu Shichong's arm, her eyes filled with pleading and temptation. "You want to be the emperor, and I want to be the queen. My dear cousin, you and I are a match made in heaven. Let's work together. Let me be your helper. I will spare no effort to help you, even if it means betraying the Ge family."
Gu Shichong narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly he smiled, gently helping Ge Yuanhui sit down. "Our Yuanhui was born noble, how could he endure such grievances? Uncle and aunt are too unreasonable."
The two smiled at each other, their surging ambition spreading like wildfire.
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